Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. It’s Wednesday, which means, it’s time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you want to join in the challenge, you can find the topics for 2023 here, and if you’d like to read other people’s responses to this week’s topic, you can find them here.

A Piece of Advice I’ll Always Remember

Growing up, my dad was the sage advice giver of our family. He always had something wise to say when he thought we needed it.

When I was much younger, and I would talk about the future and what I wanted my life to look like, my dad would always say, ‘Things don’t just happen. You have to make them happen.’

Of course, when I was young, I had no idea how to ‘make things happen’, specifically where writing was concerned. When I’d write something, it would languish in a notebook or a folder on my computer. I would never show it to anyone. It would just sit there waiting. Finally, after some encouragement from my dad, I showed a poem to a teacher, and she entered me into a competition because she thought it was good enough to win (I came second, but still!). My dad was right: you can’t just expect your life to happen.

Now I make things happen. I write, edit, post, publish and speak to agents and editors.

One of my very favourite pieces of advice my dad offered is one I still remind myself of daily, and that is: ‘What other people think about you is none of your business.’ This genuinely struck me when he first said it.

It was when I started getting terrible anxiety at school (due to some awful bullies who still occupy space in my head all these years later, unfortunately).
I was always worried about whether I had shoes said bullies would find satisfactory or a backpack they wouldn’t laugh at. I had this innate need to be liked by everyone (something I’m still working on now), and I’d worry about sounding dumb or saying ‘the wrong thing’.

When my dad gave me this advice, it caught me off-guard.

When I thought about it, I realised everyone thinks about other people. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all judge a little and judging silently in your head is one thing, but it’s a thoroughly different thing to say something out loud just to hurt someone. I take this advice to heart, and though I still worry about what others think of me, I try to keep my nose out of their private thoughts.

Well, 16 weeks and counting. I’m looking forward to reading about some of the memorable advice you’ve all received.

As always, thanks for spending your time with me today.

Until next time,

George

© 2023 GLT

Categories: life, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

Tags: advice, anxiety, bullies, dad, Wednesday, Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge, wise